You Wear It Well will go back against her own sex in the new year after failing to really fire in the Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Sandown on Saturday.

With the Grade One contest rescheduled following the abandonment of racing at Newcastle the previous Saturday, and Constitution Hill and his stablemate Shishkin withdrawn on account of testing conditions, everything appeared to be falling into place for Jamie Snowden’s star mare.

The six-year-old had already shown her well-being this season by landing a Listed prize at Wetherby, and with Snowden having won the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury the previous weekend with Datsalrightgino, You Wear It Well was favourite to provide him with another major Saturday success in Esher.

Ultimately, though, the daughter of Midnight Legend was well beaten in third place behind the popular veteran Not So Sleepy and fellow mare Love Envoi, and Snowden feels his charge underperformed.

He said: “I think the handicapper had it on form that she had to improve to win that race, even without the two defections. She ran all right, but probably hasn’t run her race, I would have said.

“Her price was probably skewed by the form of the yard and this, that and the other, but she’s run OK in the circumstances.

“She goes on soft ground, but that really was terrible ground on Saturday and she didn’t really get into any great rhythm. She was a bit keen early on and missed a couple of hurdles.

“Take nothing away from anyone, but it probably wasn’t her true running.”

You Wear It Well’s main objective is to secure a second Cheltenham Festival success in the Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle in March, having last season landed the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle.

What route she takes to Prestbury Park is uncertain, but she appears unlikely to take on the boys in the meantime.

“I think going back against her own sex makes sense really,” Snowden added.

“Due to a lack of a realistic opportunity for her in December, we thought we’d take our chance in the Fighting Fifth, and the fact that she went off favourite suggests it wasn’t a ridiculous decision to go down that kind of route.

“It didn’t quite work out, but we’ll dust ourselves down and go again. There are mares’ races for her at Sandown and Doncaster and Warwick, so there are plenty of opportunities between now and March.”

Nicky Henderson has withdrawn Constitution Hill and Shishkin from the rearranged Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Sandown.

While the meeting passed a 7.30am inspection, rain was still falling throughout the morning at the Esher track on already heavy ground on the hurdles track and conditions are being monitored.

Champion Hurdle winner Constitution Hill was supposed to make his seasonal reappearance at Newcastle last weekend but the meeting was abandoned with the Fighting Fifth moved to Sandown.

Shishkin was an intended runner at Newcastle also, in the Rehearsal Chase, but in an attempt to get a prep run into him before the King George, Henderson had declared him alongside his stablemate.

However, neither will run at Sandown, nor will promising novice hurdler Willmount in an earlier race but Jonbon is still an intended starter in the Tingle Creek.

Henderson said on X, formerly known as Twitter: “Due to the extremely testing going, we have decided that Constitution Hill will not run in today’s Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Sandown because it would simply not be fair to race him under such extreme conditions on his first run of the season.

“It is too close to Boxing Day, and he can’t do both, so, all being well, he’ll go straight to Kempton for the Christmas Hurdle.

“Shishkin has also been withdrawn, along with Willmount from his intended engagement in the Listed Novices’ Hurdle.”

As for Jonbon he added: “He has had a run so is fit and well, and the ground is much more suitable on the chase course. It is very unfortunate, and we are all sorry they won’t be turning up, but we have to put the horses first — it’s as simple as that.”

Constitution Hill could face up to 12 rivals when he makes his seasonal comeback in the Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle in December.

Nicky Henderson’s gelding is unbeaten under rules and is the undisputed star of the hurdling division, winning all seven starts and among them six Grade Ones.

He was last seen claiming back-to-back successes at the big spring festivals, winning the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham and then the Aintree Hurdle over two and a half miles before heading off on a summer break.

A graduation to chasing was discussed and ultimately vetoed, meaning the six-year-old will take a familiar route through the division by starting out in the Fighting Fifth – a race he won by 12 lengths last year.

“He’ll go straight to the Fighting Fifth, that’s December 2, hopefully we’re all ready for that,” Henderson told Racing TV.

There are 12 others engaged, amongst them is Jamie Snowden’s You Wear It Well, a Cheltenham Festival winner who made light work of her seasonal debut when winning Wetherby’s Listed bet365 Mares’ Hurdle by three lengths at the weekend.

There is a programme of valuable mares’ events throughout the term and that is the path the six-year-old is likely to follow, though the Fighting Fifth option remains open for now.

“She did really well, she was carrying a penalty first time out and it’s always nice to see them stepping up to the mark like that,” Snowden said of her Wetherby run.

“The mares’ route maps itself out, from Sandown to Warwick to Cheltenham in March. Sandown is in January, so the question is whether we think about getting a run into her before then.

“I have just put an entry for the Fighting Fifth this morning, I’m not sure we’d want to be taking on Constitution Hill necessarily, but it doesn’t hurt to put an entry in.”

Harry Fry’s Love Envoi is another mare entered, with Kerry Lee responsible for a duo of entrants in Black Poppy and Nemean Lion.

Sandy Thomson has put forward Benson and Phil Kirby has entered Jason The Militant, whereas Hughie Morrison could saddle the dual-purpose gelding Not So Sleepy, who dead-heated with Epatante in 2021.

Alan King’s Sceau Royal is another seasoned campaigner with an entry, alongside which Brian Ellison has entered Salsada, James Owen has Too Friendly and Iain Jardine has Voix Du Reve.